A high-efficiency multichannel Thomson scattering measurement system was developed as a tool for studying the electron heating mechanisms in a surface wave plasma. By improving the output power and repetition rate of the Nd:YAG laser, an F-number of spectrograph, and a quantum efficiency of ICCD camera, the overall Thomson signal collection efficiency per unit measurement time has been improved by a factor larger than 40 in comparison with the previous measurement system developed by the authors. The one-dimensional electron velocity distribution functions were measured in the vicinity of the dielectric window of a surface wave plasma. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.